Royal Family’s favourability rating drops

The Royal Family’s positive approval rating has dropped to the lowest figure recorded by Ipsos over the last 12 months.

The author(s)
  • Gideon Skinner Public Affairs
  • Keiran Pedley Public Affairs
  • Cameron Garrett Public Affairs
  • Laura King Public Affairs
  • Ben Roff Public Affairs
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The Royal Family’s positive approval rating has dropped to 47%, down six points since the start of the year, and the lowest figure recorded by Ipsos over the last 12 months.

However, the institution still has a positive net favourability rating of +21, with 26% of adults unfavourable and 25% neither favourable nor unfavourable. This time last year, the Royal Family’s net favourability rating was +29 (50% favourable, 21% unfavourable), rising to +37 (54% favourable, 17% unfavourable) in September last year after the Platinum Jubilee and the death of Queen Elizabeth II, before dipping again in recent months.  Favourability remains higher among the middle-aged and older people (at 47% of 35-54s and 59% of 55 to 75 year olds) while younger people are more split (among those aged 18-34, 33% are favourable, 33% unfavourable, and 31% neutral).

 

The Royal Family as a whole: Favourability: How favourable or unfavourable are your opinions and impressions of each of the following members of the British Royal  family?   Favourable: 53% Unfavourable: 22% Neither: 27% Don't know: 3% Net favourability: +31

Following the publication in January of the Duke of Sussex’s memoir Spare, the leading members of the Royal Family saw a decline in their approval ratings from the period immediately after the Queen’s death, and this has not yet been recovered, although there has been less change over the last couple of months. Prince William, the Prince of Wales, remains the most popular with a 59% favourability rating (-2 ppts on January just after the publication, but -10 since December), followed by Anne, the Princess Royal (57%, -3 since January, -7 since December), Catherine, the Princess of Wales (56%, -4 since January, -11 since December) and King Charles III (49%, -2 since January, -5 since December).

While Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has also seen a steady fall in his ratings since the Queen’s funeral, and again immediately after the publication of the book, again there has been less change in his ratings since January.  His favourability rating is unchanged at 23% (although this compares with 30% in December and 41% in September), and approval of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, also remains stable at 21% (compared with 24% in December and 32% in September). However, half remain unfavourable towards them. 

As the nation prepares to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III in May, 51% of adults think he will do a good job as king, compared to 14% who believe he will do a bad job. Last September, after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, 61% thought he would do a good job as monarch; however, his current standing is marginally more favourable than a year ago when it stood at 48%.

Just over six out of ten adults (63%) believe Prince William, the Prince of Wales, would do a good job as monarch, down from 74% in December 2022 and the lowest figure in the last 10 months of polling by Ipsos UK.

The public are more split over the impact that King Charles III will have on the workings of the monarchy as an institution: 48% believe it likely he will modernise the monarchy, compared to 42% who do not. Similarly, 46% believe he will reduce the cost of the monarchy, compared to 41% who say that is unlikely.

Overall, support for the institution remains ahead of its critics with 38% saying it would be worse for Britain if the monarchy was abolished, compared to 24% who think it would be better for the country. However, the percentage who believe Britain would be worse off without a monarchy is marginally down from 42% in January and shows more of a decline from a high of 47% after the death of Queen Elizabeth II last September.  There remains a clear difference by age, with older people twice as likely to think Britain would be worse off if the monarchy were abolished than younger people (52% of 55-75 year olds, compared to 26% of 18-34s, who are more likely to think it would be better for Britain if the monarchy were abolished – 34% - while 29% that it would make no difference).

Kelly Beaver MBE, Chief Executive of Ipsos, UK and Ireland, said:

Our latest polling shows the popularity of the Royal Family and its most prominent members is still down from the levels of sympathy in the aftermath of the Queen’s funeral, while engaging young people in support for the monarchy remains a key challenge However, while this does raise questions for the future, supporters of the monarchy still outnumber opponents, and half or more remain favourable towards its leading members. Looking ahead, the coronation of Charles III will be a moment of national celebration that could change this picture again, with the potential to lead to another rise in popularity for our new king and Royal Family – future research will tell us whether this will be sustained.

Technical Note

Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,084 adults aged 18-75 in Great Britain. Interviews took place on the online Omnibus on 10th – 13th March 2023. Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.

The author(s)
  • Gideon Skinner Public Affairs
  • Keiran Pedley Public Affairs
  • Cameron Garrett Public Affairs
  • Laura King Public Affairs
  • Ben Roff Public Affairs

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